Sunday, May 29, 2011

birthdays was the worst days (biggie... anyone?)

so, today is the my last day as a 20 something.  tomorrow i will enter the third decade in my life and although freaked out, i am a bit excited!  i'm thinking this year has got to be better than this last year was.

now for a little history of melissa lesson - i have never been a fan of my birthday.  truthfully it is my least favorite day of the year, and has been for most of my life.  its not the addition of another year that makes me dislike my bday (well, this year is an exception), its the fact that i do not have someone to share it with. 
if you are reading this my guess is that you already know that i was a twin.  i came into this world four hours after my fraternal twin sister stephanie.  my sister had a heart defect and was ill, but she was beautiful.  we ended up loosing her during a heart operation on the ides of march when we were exactly 9 and 1/2 months old.  although i think about her often, my birthday is the hardest day of the year for me.  i should be celebrating it with my sister, whom i have always imagined would have been my very best friend.  i know that most people will never quite understand why my bday is so hard for me but i don't really care.
although tonight i am going out to celebrate with people that i love and i am admittedly going to drink my 20s away!  i swear i don't drink that often, but tonight i am definitely gonna kick back a few!

on another note this fake menopause thing really sucks.  i am having a hard time realizing that i am going to have to do this all over again in 20 years or so.  the outside of my body may look 30 (although i hope it looks a little younger) but the inside feels like i am in my 50s.  i am seriously exhausted, have been experiencing hot flashes and my insomnia has gotten much worse which i did not think was possible.  i have been up to see the sun rise every night except for four out of the last two plus weeks.  my pain has dramatically increased over the last few days, which obviously sucks.  yesterday i had a horrible migraine-ish headache, was super nauseous, shakey, had hot and cold flashes and had a few vomiting sessions.  this is all on top of my worse than usual lower abdominal /pelvic pain.  i honestly don't know if this was due to hormones, or if i am getting the flu or just having a bad migraine.  today i feel a still feel like shit, but i haven't vomited so i'm hoping this is a good sign! 

yet another note.  i really hate people.  this has been one of the hardest weeks of my life.  two people that i adore more than almost anything are seriously making my already hormonal, emotional state even worse.  both have nearly ignored any sort of contact with me all week long and i honestly do not know why.  btw these are unconnected situations.  i feel like i must get this out there - i am not making up my pain.  i do not enjoy feeling like shit, being broke and unemployed and i do not take pleasure in sitting on my couch all day.  i started this treatment, which is not fun at all so that i can get better and move on and up in my life.  i want to work, have my own place and travel.  i just need to get rid of this pain to do these things. and i'm gonna pull the birthday card now - i do not understand how someone who is usually my rock and the most helpful, caring person i know can't set aside their unfounded feelings for one day to help me celebrate my 30th birthday.  there are a few people out there that i cannot stand but i deal with them when i need to, like our mutual friends bdays and grad parties and so on.  so my feelings are hurt, pretty badly actually but i will survive.  
 
 

Thursday, May 19, 2011

feeling hot hot hot!!!

bring it side effects.  so i had my first official hot flash today.  wow, those puppies are NOT fun!  literally head to toe body temperature rise in a matter of seconds that lasted for 15 minutes or so.  my pre-menopause super, abnormally hot feet were bad enough but now - well, its a good thing it is flip-flop season!
also i am 11 days away from being 30.  holy shit!  not liking this one bit.  as the realization that i am getting old increases so does my need to put a name to this milestone in my life.  i made a break through today; i am either 11 days away from becoming a crazy cat lady or a spinster.  i looked it up, spinster that is and its really not a bad thing and it definitely has a British flare to it.  so i guess what i am trying to say is that if you feel the need to label me as i approach 30 and temporarily go through the change of life, i prefer spinster to crazy cat lady!  although, i really LOVE my damn cat!

before i go to bed i feel i must enlighten you with a few facts and definitions that i learned today while researching menopause.  thank you urban dictionary.com the ever amazing, always relevant, borderline brilliant words of wisdom.
"menopause - when you get old, and fat, and you dont get your monthly visitor no more."
"menopause - a special time in a woman's life when they can't have babies anymore. they get hormonal, mean, rude, short-tempered, angry, and awkward. bad time for teenagers to live with their moms."

well, i hope those made you giggle as they did me!
goodnight all.
until next time!



Wednesday, May 18, 2011

be careful what you wish for

nearly a week ago my journey into menopause officially began, albeit fake and reversible.
the only reason i was able to get the Lupron shot that i had been wanting was because my OB had a dose laying around in her office that a drug rep had left as a sample.  apparently my insurance does not cover this $600 a month treatment that i will need for the next 6-12 months, but my doctor assured me she would try her very hardest to convince my insurance that i need these shots and that they are the only option i have to get  feeling better and to diagnose endometriosis.  she felt that since we started the treatment it may be a bit easier to convince my insurance company that i should be allowed to finish the same treatment. 
i was forewarned that for the first two weeks my pain would dramatically increase and throughout the rest of the months i will have mood swings, hot flashes and night sweats among other side effects.  although i am in a lot of pain on a day to day basis, i am thrilled to report that my pain did not increase during my first week of treatment!!!  i really haven't slept for more than five hour stretches since i got the shot last wednesday.  i am not sure if it is because of the massive amounts of hormones i was injected with or if my lack of sleep is due to my damn mind worrying about the massive amounts of hormones that i was recently injected with.  either way, i am sick of being awake to see the sun rise.  hopefully my normal insomnia (fall asleep around 3am) will kick back in soon, or dare i ask for a normal person non-insomniac sleeping pattern to come my way.  
a week before my OB gave me my first Lupron shot my GP Dr increased my pain medicines (new stronger pill that i can take more than two times a day).  i am not going to lie, i am so happy to actually have pain medicines that work and alleviate my lower abdomen / pelvic pain but.... they are so strong that they actually make me sick if i don't take my anti-nausea pills and have some food in my belly.  i know what you are thinking, wow she can always find something to complain about - right?  anyways - due to the strength of these pills i am not taking as many a day as i am allowed to.  so please do not worry about my 'drug use'.  i promise you that i am doing everything in my power to get to feeling better so that i don't have a need for pain pills at all and i can move on with my life and become the productive, helpful, happy person i know i am destined to be. 

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

OBs are not OGs!

so today I finally got an appointment made with my OB.  it only took 3 calls, 2 chats with nurses and 7 days.  yay for me!  my pain is horrible.  i wake up in so much pain that it makes me vomit at least once a week and generally there are a few days that i spend the day curled up in a ball just trying not to cry.  my drs and i are thinking i have endometriosis - because basically everything else has been ruled out and i have most all of the symptoms.  the first time i saw this OB she suggested a treatment that would trick my body into thinking it is in menopause, hot flashes and all.  it would also dramatically increase my pain for the first two weeks, but would eventually cure my endometriosis.  so six months of fake menopause is what she suggested and after a week of preparing myself for this i called to make the appointment and then was told the OB did not think this was the best treatment option for me anymore.  so now i have no clue what is going on.  i am going to try my damnedest to convince her that i think this is the only option i have to get better right now.   my insurance will not pay for the surgery needed to diagnose endometriosis so, i think fake menopause is my only hope.  just need to convince her that her first idea was a good one.
damn doctors.  anyways OB apt is wed, may 11th and i will let you all know how it goes later that day.

gangsters are so much cooler than girl doctors (currently watching the 100 greatest hip hop songs for like the 10th time), although i don't think i'd want a OG to give me a pap!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

complain, complain, complain

so, my 30th birthday is rapidly approaching and i am scared shitless.  i am currently unemployed (due to medical bullshit) which i will elaborate later, i live with my rents (due to unemployed status), and i am not sure that my reproductive system even works.  not what i thought 30 would look like.  i always assumed that by 30 i would have established a career, bought a house, been back to europe at least twice, had a kid or two and was thin.  well, none of these things are the case and it is freaking me the f out.  
i have never been one to measure my accomplishments by what others have done or think about me, or what kind of car i drive or jeans i wear. my entire life i have always marched to a different drum but what i am starting to realize is that i want what other people have.  not all of it, but some of what my friends have.  am i ready to give up my vices (the occasional captain and coke and the less occasional cigarettes), my body, my lets fly to the east coast tomorrow because i have a few extra bucks attitude to have a kid - not yet.  but boy what i wouldn't do for a home that i call my own and the money to travel as far away and often as i would like to.
i have a lot of life left to live and i need to get feeling better so i can do so.
i guess my point is - i am not as ready for 30 as it appears to be for me.


a little about me

i am not sure why i have decided to start a blog.  i think i want to be able to bitch, vent, gloat and share my happy moments with anyone that may care about me and my situation, or not.  
disclaimer - i tend to curse like a trucker so if that may offend you i would suggest not reading any further. and if you haven't noticed - i am not a fan of capitalizing or syntax, so deal with it.

background:
i am 29 (for the next 3 and 1/2 weeks)
never been pregnant
never married
never divorced 
college graduate (it only took me 10 years)
i am a vegetarian
been with my partner for nearly 8 years
i am a gemini and a twin
i have an amazing family: mom, dad, and two younger fantastic brothers
awesome crew of friends
but honestly think i love my cat marvin more than anyone